Laconia

At Weirs Beach in Laconia, a sign in big block letters reads “Warning... Swim at your own risk.” More than halfway through the summer, beach-goers are swimming in the bay, while the lifeguard stand remains empty.

The sale of St. Joseph’s Church in Laconia has been called off, after prospective buyers withdrew from the deal. 

The Diocese of Manchester, the Catholic Church in New Hampshire, announced a new plan to preserve the church Monday. The plan is to divide the campus into three parcels: the John W. Busiel House, the old Holy Trinity School and St. Joseph’s church. The Diocese will then keep the church and sell the other two buildings. 

People attending Fourth of July celebrations around the state on Thursday stood a good chance of running into a candidate for president.

Democratic candidates Amy Klobuchar, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Republican candidate Bill Weld, started out at the Amherst parade. Most moved next to Merrimack. And by 5 pm, Gillibrand, Gabbard, and Delaney were strolling down Laconia’s North Main Street, flanked by volunteers chanting their names and waving signs. 

Community members formally appealed the decision by the Diocese of Manchester to demolish St. Joseph’s Church in Laconia. This is a last ditch effort to save the building after church officials filed for a demolition permit.

The appeal was submitted by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Preservation Society, a nonprofit created by a handful of impassioned community members last week.

New Hampshire police have arrested and charged a man with second-degree murder for allegedly killing a Laconia resident at his home.

The Attorney General's Office said Hassan Sapry, 21, of Laconia, was apprehended Friday. 

Sapry is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 29, in Belknap County Superior Court.

Police had identified Sapry as a "person of interest" Wednesday, following the death of 57-year-old Wilfred Guzman Sr.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office is investigating a homicide following a man's death in Laconia Friday.

The AG said Wilfred Guzman Sr., 57, was found dead at his residence.

The Chief Medical Examiner's office concluded Guzman's death was caused by a blunt and sharp-force injury to his head.

The homicide remains under investigation.

A program developed in Manchester that supports children in trauma is spreading to other New Hampshire towns.

The program - called “Adverse Childhood Experience Response Teams” (ACERT's) - helps police connect social workers to kids who have recently witnessed a traumatic event, such as domestic violence or an overdose.

  A man accused of threatening violence at the New Hampshire Police Academy graduation has been sent to Concord Hospital for a mental health evaluation.

According to court documents, fellow classmates say 24-year-old Laconia Police Department recruit Noah Beaulieu talked about bringing 30-round magazines of ammunition and shooting those attending the academy graduation scheduled for Friday.

Attorney Mark Sisti is representing Beaulieu. He said his client has no criminal record or mental health history.

A commission tasked with providing recommendations to the state on possible development of a 200-acre piece of land in Laconia provided progress updates Tuesday.

Planning and design firm NBBJ provided a tweaked proposal for the site, which now includes a mix of starter homes, retail, open spaces and other development.

On Saturday, Laconia Middle School became a training ground for police, firefighters, and EMS personnel from across Belknap County.

The Laconia Police Department organized the training to test local emergency response in case of an active shooter. Police departments across the state conduct these regularly, but trainings at schools have ramped up in the last several years, in part due to funding from the Department of Homeland Security.

Scroll through the slideshow above to see photos from the training.

The Laconia Police Department is conducting an active shooter exercise Saturday at Laconia Middle School.

New Hampshire police run these exercises regularly, but this one is meant to train officers from departments throughout Belknap County.

Police Chief Matthew Canfield says, when incidents occur in a rural state, it's critical to coordinate multiple departments.

A commission tasked with providing recommendations to the state on possible development of a 200-acre piece of land in Laconia held a public hearing Tuesday night.

In the past, consulting firms have imagined the site could find new life as retirement housing, a sports complex and even a hotel facility.

But attendees got a presentation from planning and design firm NBBJ on Tuesday that imagines all three co-existing on the site along with dozens of starter homes. They call the proposal a "Multi-Generational Wellness Village."

For children who rely on free and reduced price meals during the school year, including 50 percent of public school students in Laconia, summer vacation can mean 10 weeks of food insecurity. 

That's why 10-year-old Maia Heller is up early on her first day of summer vacation, volunteering for the Got Lunch! Laconia program. 

"It feels really good that I know they need some food and I'm helping them get it," Heller said as she packed apples, carrots, and jars of peanut butter and jelly into grocery bags. 

The Laconia Police Department reports that a single motorcycle rider died after crashing his motorcycle on Watson Road late Tuesday night.

Police said the operator was traveling northeast, just east of Route 3, when the motorcycle left the paved roadway.

Neighbors nearby rushed to the scene and called emergency services. The rider was pronounced dead at the scene. Police did not release his name, pending notification of family.

The 95th Laconia Motorcycle Week kicks off this weekend, marking the start of the Lakes Region summer tourism season.

The festival draws in visitors from across the country, and is a revenue boost for restaurants, bars and hotels in the area. 

But some folks who've been working Bike Week for years, like Steve Penlin at the Broken Spoke Saloon on Weirs Beach, say they've noticed a demographic shift in the biker community.  

Lakes Region residents got their first look Wednesday night at possible future plans for the former Laconia State School.

The scenic, state-owned property was a state prison, and before that, a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities. 

Lakes Region residents can hear more Wednesday night about plans to redevelop the site of a former state prison in Laconia.

The Lakes Region facility was a minimum-security prison from 1991 to 2009.

For nearly 100 years before that, it was the Laconia State School – a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities. It had a documented history of abuse, neglect and overcrowding.

Now, state and local officials have to decide what to do with the scenic, 200-acre property long-term.

Representatives from NASA visited Smiths Titeflex in Laconia Thursday to emphasize the company's efforts in bringing humans to space.

All the external plumbing for NASA’s Space Launch System - which the agency says will be its most powerful rocket ever built and will pave the way for travel to Mars - is manufactured at Smiths Triflex.

Astronaut Barry Wilmore was on hand to give a presentation to employees that included photos from the 178 days he spent in space.  

Despite fears that it would close last summer, the Weirs Drive-in Theater in Laconia will kick off its 69th summer of screening movies under the stars this weekend.

The iconic movie theater announced it was closing last year after a buyer expressed interest in developing the property.

The state Department of Environmental Services is on the road this week and next, taking feedback on a complex draft of new rules for development around wetlands.

This is the first total rewrite of the state wetlands code since the 1990s, and it's been in the works since 2014.

DES says its goal is to speed up the permitting process for lower-impact projects and make everything clearer. The proposed rules for tidal areas also account for climate change and sea level rise.

Voters in Laconia will head to the polls on Tuesday for a special election to fill a New Hampshire House seat.

The position was left vacant following the death of Donald Flanders, a Republican who was serving his ninth term when he passed away last September.

The race pits Les Cartier, a Republican and retired hazardous waste coordinator in the state Fire Marshall’s Office, against Democrat Phil Spagnuolo, a substance misuse recovery coach.

Republicans currently hold a 43-seat advantage in the 400-member New Hampshire House.

The case of three women cited in 2016 for going topless on a beach in Laconia went before the New Hampshire Supreme Court this week.

The women of the Free the Nipple movement want the court to overturn Laconia's indecent exposure law. It specifically bars women from baring their breasts in public without their nipples covered.

Attorney Dan Hynes, also a state representative from Manchester, told the justices that the ordinance is discriminatory. He compared it to a hypothetical law barring gay people from the beach.